ARMED FORCES: Into the Unknown

The pilots and engineers at California's Edwards Air Force Base knew Captain Milburn G. Apt as a quietly amiable man who liked nothing better than puttering in his garden and playing with his kids. At 32, he had 3,500 hours' flying time, a good World War II combat record, and seven years of flight-test training to his credit. It was a record that a few weeks ago brought him one of the Air Force's top test assignments: a chance to pilot the world's fastest (an estimated 2,000 m.p.h.), highest-flying (almost 24 miles)...

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